leaves and small
dolphins both in blind and gold tooling; and Giunta, a Florentine
printer, had his books bound in a similar way but without the dolphins.
Many early Venetian bindings have recessed panels, made by the use of
double boards, the upper of which is pierced, finished in true oriental
fashion.

Jean Grolier, viscount d'Aguisy, treasurer of France in 1545, was a
great collector of fine books, most of which were bound for himself, and
bear upon them his legend, _Portio mea domine sit in terra viventium_,
and also his name, Io Grolierii et Amicorum (Plate, fig. 3). Tommaso
Maioli, an Italian collector of about the same time, used the same form
of legend. Books bound for him are curiously marked with atoms of gold
remaining in the irregularities of the leather.

Demetrio Canevari, physician to Pope Urban VIII., had his books bound in
dark green or deep red morocco, and upon them is a fine cameo stamp with
a design of Apollo driving a chariot with one white horse and one black
horse towards a mountain on which is a silver Pegasus. The stamp was
coloured, but in most cases the colour has now worn off. Round the stamp
is the legend [Greek: ORTHOS KAI MAE LOXIOS].

The Italian bindings which were made for popes and cardinals are always
of much interest and often of high merit, but as a rule later Italian
bindings are disappointing.

Geoffrey Tory, printer and engraver to Francis I. of France, designed
some fine bindings, some for himself and quite possibly some for Jean
Grolier.

For Henry II. of France much highly decorative work in binding was done,
richly gilded and coloured. These bindings have upon them the king's
initials, the initials of his queen, Catherine de' Medici, and the
emblems of crescents and bows. Henry's device was a crescent with the
legend, _Donec impleat totum orbem_. Bindings of similar style were made
for Diane de Poitiers, duchesse de Valentinois, with her initials and
the same devices of crescents and bows. They are always fine work.

German bindings are mostly in pigskin, finely stamped in blind. Several
are, however, in calf. Gilding, when it exists, is generally bad.

In England during the 17th century much fine work was done in binding,
most of it in morocco, but Henry, prince of Wales, always had his books
bound in calf. The Jacobean style is heraldic, with semis of small
stamps and heavy corners, but James I. has left some very fine bindings
in another style (Plate, fig. 4), ve